The pickins’ are a little light this week, perhaps because Netflix assumed its audience would be too busy streaming the second season of “House of Cards” to watch a movie. But I’ve pulled together a list of five good movies for every mood that just began streaming recently.
The big news on Netflix Instant this week is that the second season of “House of Cards” will drop on Valentine’s Day, so Netflix may understandably not want to detract from the binge-watching with a lot of new movies. Still, here are five recent additions worth your streaming time.
Pick of the week: “A Fistful of Dollars“: I highlighted “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” last week, so it’s time to look at Clint Eastwood’s first collaboration with Sergio Leone, a visceral update on “Yojimbo” in which Clint plays two rival gangs off against each other. Now we just need Instant to add “For a Few Dollars More.”
The start of a new month meant the release of a bunch of new titles on Netflix Instant, many of them classics. But our pick of the week is a recent animated hit that was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2013.
Pick of the week: “The Croods“ — This animated film about a cavemen family hunting for a new home looked terrible from the trailers, but it’s actually a very funny film that’s surprisingly insightful about the relationship between fathers and daughters. Beautiful animation, strong voice work from Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone and, best of all, an animated teenage girl who actually has the body type of an actual teenage girl.
Western of the week: “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” — Sergio Leone’s sprawling tale of three outlaws, ranging from an antihero to a cold-blooded villain, on the trail of a fortune in gold mixes iconic Leone action with an epic sweep and a surprisingly potent antiwar theme.
Comedy of the week: “Airplane!“ — The UW-Madison’s own Zucker, Zucker and Abraham crib shamelessly from “Zero Hour” to make the quintessential parody film, often imitated, never equaled, always quoted.
Thriller of the week: “Patriot Games” — With the wan Jack Ryan reboot “Patriot Games” in theaters, it’s a good time to revisit Harrison Ford’s first outing as the CIA analyst, fighting IRA terrorists threatening his family.
Drama of the week: “Broken” — A precocious girl watches the neighbors on her quiet cul-de-sac hurtle towards violent confrontation in this British drama starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy.
Pick of the week: The Act of Killing“ — My full review is here. The best documentary of 2013 is Joshua Oppenheimer’s brutal and fascinating look at the perpetrators of atrocities in Indonesia, now happily living in late middle age. Oppenheimer invites the men to recreate their crimes as if they were characters in a movie, and the result is a chilling look at how individuals and nations process shameful memories.
Pick of the week: “The Hunt“ — My full review is here. This Danish film is on the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film for this year’s Oscars. It stars Mads Mikkelsen as a kindergarten teacher who becomes the town pariah after a young girl makes a false accusation against him. It’s reminiscent of “The Crucible” in showing how suspicion can spread through a small town, overwhelming judgment, and how it is to stamp out.
With the “Polar Vortex” gripping the Midwest, a lot of people are hunkered down in their homes waiting for the thermometer to rocket back up to 0 degrees, and wondering if spring will ever come.
Luckily, the movies provide us with proof that the seasons do change, and this too shall pass. So, to help you get through, this is a special bonus edition of “Instant Gratification,” featuring five warm-weather movies sure to lift your spirits.
Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away. Last week, a lot of folks were worried that Netflix was letting its licensing agreement expire on almost 100 movies and TV series. But with the new year, Netflix Instant has added a bunch of new titles, including some bonafide classics. Lots to choose from as we get through this cold spell.
There’s been a lot of buzz on social media about a report that Netflix Instant will be dropping about 80 movies at the end of the year — i.e. the end of today — as licensing arrangements expire. Some folks are desperately trying to cram those movies in while we’re still in 2013 before they’re gone for good.
Merry Christmas Eve! If you’ve got a mountain of presents still to wrap, or just want to chill a little before heading up for a long winter’s nap, here are five yuletide films streaming on Netflix, from naughty to nice.
Pick of the week: “The Ice Harvest” — A friend recommended this 2005 black comic thriller, starring John Cusack as a Wichita mob lawyer trying to get out of town on Christmas Eve with $2 million of his employers’ money. It’s great — funny and mean and violent, and the screenplay by novelist Richard Russo and his filmmaking partner Robert Benton (“Nobody’s Fool”) elevates the material into an unsentimental look at middle-age disappointment. Cusack has a great speech about his father and his uncle that serves as an acidic corrective to the “Every life means something” message of “It’s A Wonderful Life,” basically saying “Pottersville. Bedford Falls. Either way, we’re all dead.”
Comedy of the week: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” — Now this is probably much more what you had in mind, as the Griswolds suffer one holiday disaster after another. Comedy sequels are tough to pull off (see “Anchorman 2”), but the “Vacation” series arguably made their “threequel” their best.
Musical of the week: “White Christmas” — Saw this for the first time last year and loved it as kind of a grown-up, mixed-drinks kind of Christmas movie, as Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye put on a show to save their old commanding officer’s inn. Lots of great musical numbers, the highlight for me being Kaye’s weirdly passive-aggressive slam on modern dance. And, of course, the title song.
Romance of the week: “Love Actually” — Yes, yes I know. Some of this is insufferable. But some of it is great, like debauched rock star Bill Nighy or Emma Thompson quietly falling apart as she learns of her husband’s infidelity. If nothing else, it will remind you not to get your wife a CD for Christmas.
Fantasy movie of the week: “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” — This Finnish movie is completely nuts, reimagining the St. Nicholas figure as an ancient evil that reindeer herders and one brave young boy must catch to protect their village. You’d better watch out.
Pick of the week: “Blackfish” — My full review is here. There have been better documentaries released in 2013, but none as immediately effective as “Blackfish,” which shines a light both on the mistreatment of killer whales at SeaWorld as well as how trainers have been left in the dark about those abuses, with sometimes fatal consequences.
Madison Movie 